ChatRoulette is an online video chat service where you can talk to strangers from anywhere in the world.

About a year ago, my friend told me about Omegle — he said it’s a great place to pass time, you get to talk with random strangers and it’s fun. I visited the site but thought it wasn’t worth my time because I don’t like these sort of things. When I was a kid, I got addicted to chatting on Yahoo; I used to chat with strangers for hours — this fanaticism came to an end when I came across this group of guys who tried to bully me. I was 12 at that time.

Right now, I’m 19 and totally Free. I am waiting for my college to begin and therefore I have loads of time of burn — actually, I am burning several hours playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas every day.

Last night, I decided to go on ChatRoulette with my webcam on. After about 20 minutes of using the service, I was feeling like a retard, who can’t find people to talk to in the real world. I said to myself that I will talk with one person, ask him how much time he has spent on ChatRoulette today and then leave.

My laptop was fully charged when I started chatting and I left my chair when my laptop went into StandBy mode because of low battery life — that’s more than 4 hours.

I realized that ChatRoulette is a real Time sucker.

So, after this large build up, I would like to share some reasons why you should seriously avoid chatting with random people — esp. if you’re a kid – somewhere around 13-14.

ChatRoulette is Unsafe for Kids: There is a lot of nudity on the website therefore it is better to stay away from it if you’re a kid. Also, there are several elderly perverts who wouldn’t hesitate in bullying the sh*t out of you.

Special Note to Mothers: I don’t know if you’re using a Web blocker on your computer but it isn’t a bad idea. K9 Web Protection is a very good software that will enable you to block website that you don’t want your kids to see, it’s password-protected, your kids won’t be able to un-install it and it’s completely Free.

You’re Getting Recorded: Not all the people on ChatRoulette would be recording you but there are few guys who have found an idea to make money from it. They record the screen while Chatting and then publish the video on YouTube; since they are getting around 100,000 to 500,000 on each video, they must be making some money from YouTube’s partner program.

I will try to report them because this is direct invasion into people’s privacy. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a girl or a guy — don’t do anything stupid on the Internet — the world is watching and it’s filled with mean & nasty people.

You can get Scammed: There are several troll videos on ChatRoulette and men are the prime targets of these videos. The girl on the other side would start with normal conversation, she will ask you how you are and regular stuff — then she’ll send you a link to a video. She’ll say, “This is the video I recently recorded, check it out.” Don’t fall for it, it’s a trap — there can be two ways it will rob you off your money — it can ask you to buy the latest software or install some software — the software you’ll install would infect your PC with a virus — it would install Keylogger onto your system that record your account details.

Well, these are some basic guidelines that should be taught to kids and adults when they start using Internet.

Advertisers can Freak you out: Advertising at The Last Exorcism used this cheap strategy to promote the movie on ChatRoulette.

Disclaimer: Following video is not suitable for kids — it can freak them out. Viewer discretion is advised. Watch this video only if you can handle movies like Saw.

It’s pathetic!

What’s ChatRoulette for People?

Web programs in itself are nothing — it’s the people who give it meaning. Google is useless if people don’t search, Facebook is useless if people don’t interact, Amazon is useless if people don’t buy — you get the idea.

ChatRoulette was just a fun project that must have started with a Good intention but people abusing the service are to be blamed for its shallowness.

ChatRoulette Positive (+)

Not all the people on ChatRoulette are there to bully you. You can strike a Genuine conversation with a stranger, though, if you want to chat with Girls — you’d need good looks and nice body.

Last night, I chatted with three guys — first one was from Malaysia — interested in Programming; second was from Paris who told me about his friend who had shifted to New Delhi in order to work as an artist for Bollywood movies and the third one was from Bulgaria — totally into Sports and would be joining Military college.

Even though ChatRoulette can be interesting but one cannot deny that it is a real time and energy sucker. For me, it’s not worth it. I would recommend you to stay away from it; rest is up to you.